The past couple of weeks have brought a whirlwind of emotions for 2009 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada. First, he finally got a residence set up in Canada so that he could play at the world’s largest online poker sites, such as his sponsor PokerStars.
But on a down note, he learned that his bar – Cada’s Sports Bar and Grill – is being shut down due to a liquor license investigation. That said, let’s take a look at both of these recent high and low points for the 25-year-old.
Back in the Game
In just a couple of months, we’ll be nearing the 2-year anniversary of Black Friday. And it wasn’t until now that Cada finally put himself into a position to play at the bigger poker sites. He set up a residence in Canada, which is just 45 minutes from his primary suburban Detroit home. He wrote about this on Facebook with the following:
Don’t know why it took me this long to start back online poker. Feels good to be motivated again and first day went really well online. I actually feel lucky to live in Michigan to be able to make the drive once or twice a week to play and be able to be home with family and friends. Now I need to find a way to play more live tournaments because I hate traveling most of the time for poker.
Closed for Business
In 2011, Joe Cada and his dad, Jerry, opened the “Cada’s Sports Bar and Grill” in their hometown of Sterling Heights, Michigan. And this establishment drew quite a crowd because the father/son combo had a charity gambling license, meaning people could play real money casino games in the bar.
Unfortunately, trouble started for Cada’s Sports Bar when their liquor license application was delayed in 2012. The stated reason was that it needed to be “held for further commission considerations.” But there’s reason to believe the bar may have been selling liquor even when the application was still under review. This being said, Cada’s Sports Bar and Grill has been closed down pending a further police investigation.
Don’t feel too sorry for Cada though. He earned $8,546,435 after becoming the youngest Main Event champion ever and has collected $9,330,211 in overall winnings. So it’s unlikely that he’s in any trouble as far as money goes.